Three-dimensional virtual worlds are an emerging medium currently being used in both traditional classrooms and for distance education. Three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds are a combination of desk-top interactive Virtual Reality within a chat environment. This analysis provides an overview of Active Worlds Educational Universe and Adobe…

If manufacturing a safer cigarette is technically possible--an open question--then mandating that tobacco manufacturers improve the safety of cigarettes would likely have both positive and negative implications for the nation's health. On the one hand, removing toxins may reduce the incidence of smoking-related diseases and premature mortality in…

This study examined the relationship between witness age, narrative features in testimony, and the perceived credibility of witnesses. Ninety older and young adult witnesses to a staged theft were videotaped as they freely recalled crime events. Later, participant-jurors viewed the videos and assessed the witnesses' credibility. Operational…

In an intervention aimed at showing students the amount of responsibility involved in caring for an infant, 353 predominantly ninth-grade and Latino students carried the Baby Think It Over simulation doll in an intervention and completed matched pre- and posttest measures. Statistically significant gains were found on the total score and the…

DETECT, the acronym for Dimensionality Evaluation To Enumerate Contributing Traits, is an innovative and relatively new nonparametric dimensionality assessment procedure used to identify mutually exclusive, dimensionally homogeneous clusters of items using a genetic algorithm ( Zhang & Stout, 1999). Because the clusters of items are mutually…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an experiential approach to teen pregnancy (TP) prevention called "Baby Think It Over," a computerized infant simulator, on adolescents' attitudes and behaviors regarding teen pregnancy and sexuality. Recently, a more realistic model called "Real Care Baby" was developed. The small amount of research on…

In this study, the author compared the effectiveness of two different strategic management course designs: one centered on case discussions and the other combining a computer-based simulation with some cases. In addition to evaluation of the research literature, the study involved experiments with six course sections composed of 130 students, Both…

Focuses on a simulation game to express the power and legitimacy of the teacher authority as a motivator of human behavior in facilitating student learning. States the instructor in this game is an active participant. Concludes the game achieves teacher-student understanding of how authority figures influence others behavior. (KDR)

Some aspects of biology, for example the Hardy-Weinberg simulation of population genetics or modelling heat flow in lizards, have an undeniable mathematical basis. Students can find the level of mathematical skill required to deal with such concepts to be an insurmountable hurdle to understanding. If not used effectively, spreadsheet models…

Science teachers face challenges that affect the quality of instruction. Tight budgets, limited resources, school schedules, and other obstacles limit students' opportunities to experience science that is visual and interactive. Incorporating web-based Java applets into science instruction offers a practical solution to these challenges. The…

This article examines ethnic segregation, defined as segregation among racial groups as well as between native-born and immigrant students, across elementary school classrooms in New York City. Specifically, the study compares patterns in within-school segregation across ethnic groups, grades, boroughs, and years. Current levels of within-school…

The mechanisms of perceptual learning are analyzed theoretically, probed in an orientation-discrimination experiment involving a novel nonstationary context manipulation, and instantiated in a detailed computational model. Two hypotheses are examined: modification of early cortical representations versus task-specific selective reweighting.…

Personal teaching efficacy is associated with a teacher's effectiveness in the classroom. To enhance this efficacy in a computer-simulated training program, both personal traits and guided practices need to be considered concurrently. In this study, it was hypothesised that the interactive effects from the coupling of personal traits with guided…

As part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, many states are using confidence intervals to determine a range of scores for evaluating a school system. More specifically, the states are employing confidence intervals to help minimize measurement error in determining a school system's performance. The methodology and techniques employed in…

We have used a genetically tractable model system, the fruit fly "Drosophila melanogaster" to study the interdependence between sensory processing and associative processing on learning performance. We investigated the influence of variations in the physical and predictive properties of color stimuli in several different operant-conditioning…